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“Such a Fun Age” was one of my standout books last year, so I was *ecstatic* to read an advanced copy of Kiley Reid’s upcoming “Come and Get It” 🥳 There’s a few thematic similarities between the two novels—primarily being power dynamics between older and younger women, and the oppressiveness of racist microaggressions—but ultimately I didn’t love this one nearly as much as the former. I’ll try to break down some of the elements that factored into the 3 star rating!

The great: Reid’s prose continues to be delightful to read. She is so talented when it comes to seamlessly adding in world and character-specific details. And I loved Millie most of all; she was such a complex character. Her backstory, coupled with her current relationship dynamics, made her chapters the most intriguing to read.

The less-than-great: there’s a lot of characters, and it’s difficult to discern early on who is central to the overall story. Because the narrative is told from three perspectives—Millie, a dorm RA; Kennedy, a dorm resident; and Agatha, a visiting creative nonfiction professor—it’s easy to feel unattached to them. Or, possibly even worse, feeling as though the characters don’t even know their own place in the story; this was the case with Tyler, an antagonistic resident in the dorm. In a story that’s being described as character-driven, everyone feels like a passenger.

It felt like the bones of a solid story were here, but the execution didn’t create the same magic from Reid’s previous novel. I still have high hopes for whatever she ends up writing next, but this is a book I don’t plan on revisiting when it’s published in January.

Thanks to @netgalley and @putnambooks for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I devoured Such A Fun Story, but couldn’t get into this one. Plot was very slow and did not hook me at all.

I loved Reid's debut novel, Such A Fun Age, and was eager to read her sophomore novel. It's difficult not to compare the two. While Such A Fun Age deals with a serious topic with sensitivity, it is an easy and enjoyable read. Come and Get It is breezy read but the subject matter doesn't feel sensitively handled, leading the climax to feel like a mockery of the characters and their choices. I enjoyed the college setting and some of the characters, but there were large sections of the book that felt unnecessary. Many of the characters don't interact until well past the half-way mark, and many early chapters are dedicated to a romantic relationship between one of the protagonists, Agatha, and her girlfriend Robin. Robin feels somewhat peripheral to the plot and her minimal contribution towards the conclusion of the story could have been accomplished with far less detail about how she met Agatha, the evolution of their relationship, and their many arguments. Overall, I found the novel disappointing and a bit of a let down after Such A Fun Age.

It pains me to write this review - I’m still a tremendous fan of Kiley Reid’s but was disappointed with her latest novel, Come and Get It. Part of what I loved about Reid’s debut, Such a Fun Age, was the dialogue element. Reid is masterful in how she uses interactions between characters to confront difficult, nuanced topics. Highly recommend Such A Fun Age for the complexity of the characters and how they evolve (or don’t) over the course of the plot.

Unfortunately, Come and Get It doesn’t succeed in building three-dimensional characters. Reid almost gets there with Millie and less so with Agatha, but it feels like a light version of what the book needs. We only skim the surface, and typically what we find is a character who is either unlikeable so you lose interest or they become so much a caricature of themselves that it’s hard to connect with them as people. I understand Reid’s choice to purposely make the characters cringeworthy but it almost became too unbelievable (e.g., some of the lingo overheard in the dorm… I just don’t believe Gen-Z is saying any of that. Ryland translated, everyone else fell flat). Also, the pop-culture references didn’t feel like a great match either.

Adding to this, the plot and conclusions for each character are not sturdy. The entire handling of Kennedy’s character and plot was a flop. The climax to her storyline was steep and then its reveal was mildly ridiculous. I also thought that the crumbling scene between Peyton and Kennedy was corny and again, not something I believe would happen. There are major holes - how is Agatha known to be at the scene, but somehow Kennedy is led to believe it was all a figment of her imagination (and that entire incident itself, like the gravity of the behavior vs her conflicting pre-meditation/lack of memory post, is almost insulting). The ending, in general, felt lazy to me.

The whole time I kind of wondered if I was reading YA. That’s the best way I can summarize the vibe.

Again, highly recommend Such A Fun Age, but would pass on this as a recommendation to fellow readers.

After I finished this book all I could think was: That was a waste of time. A coming of age character study set in a southern college, this felt like someone was making a list of possible characters and ideas for a future book. Normally I love a book with no plot and just vibes, but even the vibes here weren’t good. We follow so many characters that it feels a bit jumbled, and I didn’t really enjoy my time with any of them. I don’t need a character to be likeable, but I do prefer them to be original and interesting. There were so many ideas brought up, but nothing went into depth. It felt like a bunch of subjects were introduced and then nothing compelling was said about them, they were just there. The worst part was the dialogue, it was so cringey and unrealistic that alone almost made me DNF.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

LOVED this book! So Much! Kiley Reid has the kind of writing style that just drew me in from the first page. This is the story of an event that happened in a Dorm at University of Arkansas. Millie, a resident advisor in Belgrade Dorm, gets involved in the lives of her fellow residents, as well as in the life of a researching professor. Chaos ensues. People pay for their mistakes. Life moves on.

I loved dorm life when I was attended a major University in the South, and this story could have so easily have happened in my dorm. Reid knows how to write the way teenaged college girls from the South speak. Reading the dialogue in this book was just as fun and engaging as the story itself.

Highly recommend - I can't wait for Reid's next one!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Come and Get It.

Kiley expertly explores issues related to class and race among college aged students on a southern university campus. The characters are well developed and intriguing. This was a fantastic, thought provoking novel that I couldn't put down.

⭐️⭐️ (2 out of 5 stars)

I was so excited to receive an ARC of Kiley Reid’s sophomore novel, Come and Get It. I loved her debut Such a Fun Age and found it so compelling and fresh. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me, and I didn’t really enjoy it - but I’d still urge you to try it out if you were a fan of Such a Fun Age! Reid’s sharp wit rings true here, I could just not get interested in this story.

My major issue here is that there is no discernible plot. There are EIGHT main focal characters and even more supporting characters. So much happening and it all felt rather meaningless? Literally, I had no idea what was happening or where the story was going until like 80% of the way in.

Kiley Reid once again looks at class and race in an off-beat way that oftentimes feels rather satirical. I really enjoy this about her writing! I think this had good potential, but needed more focus and a driving storyline to keep my interest.

I loved this book and this author. It was perfection. The cover really grabs you in. 5 star read for sure.

There were too many characters, which made the plot hard to follow. It had potential, but don't think I would recommend to my fellow reader.

not necessarily the follow up to Such a Fun Age that I hoped for. there are interesting moments in this book, with some intriguing ideas and beautifully written passages- but I don't think it ever found its footing or even decided on what it was trying to convey. too many characters and too little plot. a lot of very natural dialogue and character development, so if it was trying to capture 'real life' it was successful...but sometimes real life is boring!!

I reviewed an e-arc and will be intrigued to see if any changes are made between now and Jan 2024.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Circus for sending this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited for this as I have heard lots of hype for this author & am originally from Arkansas so the setting at the U of A seemed like a fun element. This book follows Millie, an RA for a transfer students dorm at the University of Arkansas, Agatha Paul, a lesbian professor who has recently moved to the university from New York, and a suite of three female roommates who come from various backgrounds to transfer to the university later in their college career. The relationship between these women, the university, and themselves is explored throughout the novel. This book was incredibly well-researched with the author nailing key locations in Fayetteville and the story moved along well. It may bother some but I enjoyed that from chapter to chapter the focus was on different characters. It felt like each chapter was each own little story that ultimately weaved together with the rest of the book and provided a nice pace. This book also raises important questions around race, power, forgiveness and coming-of-age. Overall I enjoyed it, but I had two main issues. For a book written by someone not from the South, the descriptions of Southerners and the South while sometimes accurate felt surface level, not nuanced, and leaned into negative stereotypes. Second, there were some small details that did not add up. For example, the book appears to be set fairly modern day but the RA's income as an RA and house sitter were not in line with what I would expect someone in those roles to make currently. I really enjoyed the story and if the depictions of the characters were a bit more nuanced and less stereotypical, this would've definitely earned at least 4 stars from me. I'm sure these minor issues will not hinder this book from having widespread appeal upon publication.

I loved Reid's debut novel which was a five star read for me. I was very excited to get my hands on a copy of her latest book. For me, Come and Get It wasn't as good as Such a Fun Age. The story is character driven (with a lot of characters) and it is hard to follow the plot (if there is one). While Reid's sense of humor does shine through which I appreciated, I struggled to get through this. I am not a fan of character driven stories or multiple characters. I just find it hard to follow. While many will enjoy this book and the topics it addresses, it wasn't for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for digital ARC.

i have mixed feelings about this book. it was a really fun read, but it was plotless most of the time and the climax and abrupt ending was unsatisfying. the drama in this book and the look at racism/microaggressions was really interesting, but it wasn’t enough to save it from feeling unfinished.

I devoured SUCH A FUN AGE and was so excited for this one! Unfortunately it missed the mark for me. It dragged on and nothing really seemed to be happening throughout the majority of the book. I couldn’t relate to or bring myself to care about any of the characters. I also can’t stand when characters have their accents spelled out (a la Hagrid in Harry Potter) - something about spelling it as “mah” instead of “my” just really gets under my skin and breaks the immersion for me.

I was excited to learn that Kiley Reid was authoring a new book, because I really enjoyed “Such a Fun Age.” Similar to Reid’s previous novel, this book manages to keep a subtle, yet somehow urgent, pace, which I enjoyed. I went into this book with no knowledge of the plot, just trust in the author’s writing and a curiosity about the cover art and title. Funny enough, I spent my undergraduate years at a large university in the South. It was interesting to see similarities between the culture of my undergrad experience and the depiction of University of Arkansas in this book. I recognized portions of characters like Tyler, Kennedy, Peyton, Millie and others on campus. The academic character, Agatha Paul, was the least recognizable character to me. And, by the end of the book, her somewhat alien presence at the campus (ironic since her role necessitates proximity to a university) had really large consequences. And then they didn’t. It makes me think of the university semester system, or even an academic calendar year; so much time is spent with a particular set of people, doing coursework, learning from professors, planning and attending events, and then it ends.

Reid's writing here is often funny and aptly describes things like a boy's laugh or a facial expression in a way I understand, but didn't know another could write so well. Overall, "Come and Get It" was an interesting commentary on privilege, race and shame in a particularly unique setting.

I could not wait to read this!!! Kiley Reid is an auto read author for me - Such A Fun Age is one of my favorites and Come and Get It has now joined that list.

We meet our cast of characters at the University of Arkansas in 2017 - Millie, an RA who took some time off and is now back at Belgrade, the dorm for transfers and scholarship kids, Agatha, an author and journalist who is a visiting professor for the semester, and the kids who make up the rest of the residents and RA staff.

Come and Get It is a thoughtful, tension filled character study that explores coming of age, sexuality, micro and macro aggressions, and money. I loved it. I thought it was so unique and masterful in how Reid followed so many characters and allowed us to understand them all so deeply.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC. Come and Get It is out 1/30/24.

DNF. Gave it til 25% but the story hadn't started and the details of these people I can't care about were excruciating.

This book contains a lot of Reid’s humor and well-crafted lines that I enjoyed so much from Such a Fun Age. The characters are unique with their mannerisms, and you can tell there’s a lot bubbling under the surface. For pacing, I felt that things really picked up towards the final quarter of the book and would’ve loved to feel that same propulsion earlier. Still, a smart book with some fascinating characters!

This is one the worst books I have ever read. There was little to no plot. It made no sense. The writing was… not great. The “ohmygod” … I’m pretty sure there was over 100 of them in this book. There were too many characters, the plot was non-existent, and the end was like, what? I really liked the author’s debut and had high hopes for this one. No such luck.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.